Material reducing machines are used to reduce larger pieces of material into smaller pieces by cutting, chopping, shredding or breaking. Generally, a material reducing machine will have an enclosure for a reducing mechanism, such as a rotating working drum equipped with blades, knives or hammers. The enclosure will typically have an inlet through which the larger materials to be reduced are introduced, and a discharge outlet through which the smaller materials are discharged after reduction. In some types of material reducing machines, such as most common wood chippers, the action of the rotating working drum will impart a discharging force to the reduced material in the direction of the discharge outlet. In other types of material reducing machines, a fan, conveyor or other mechanism may be employed to transport, or to assist in transporting, the reduced material to the discharge outlet.
It is common for the discharge chute on a material reducing machine to be fixed so that the material is always discharged in a single direction. It is also common for the discharge chute on a material reducing machine to be relatively short, so that there is little control over the discharging material.
It would be advantageous if a discharge chute could be developed for a material reducing machine that could be steered to direct the material being discharged through a range of angles to the left and to the right of the centerline of the machine (where the discharge outlet is on one end of the machine so that material exits the discharge outlet along the centerline of the machine). It would also be advantageous if such a discharge chute could be provided that was scalable to any suitable and convenient length.